🍴 Kitchen Makeover 🍴

We are slowly but surely making progress on the house! It is luxurious to take our time on this project. We are investigating how this home can facilitate intentionally raising children in a harmonious, grounded, energetically-aligned environment. As we grow as a family we learn exactly what functions we need our house to serve and this informs the intelligent development of the space.  

We recently started a kitchen mini makeover. If you've read earlier entries, you will remember the abundance of grey paint. Besides drab grey walls, the kitchen also featured unsightly, brown, speckled countertops and a brown tile-accented faux brick backsplash (not cute!) The refrigerator was grimy and too large for the space. A strange, scalloped wooden border awkwardly connected two sets of cabinets above the window and a giant microwave hung above the stove. That's just the start of what I had to change about this kitchen!

Kitchen: before

A massive upgrade came with new flooring. Previously, a wood-look tile floor occupied the galley kitchen and alternate flooring bordered it in the dining area. A third flooring type appeared in the small alcove of that adjoining room. Needless to say, it was a bit of a mess! 

It felt way better in there with consistent flooring throughout and a vibrant paint job. Another big difference came with a new stainless steel refrigerator sized appropriately to the counter depth. A few inches make a big difference for this space. We also removed the awkward wooden piece above the window and got rid of the giant microwave. We installed a stainless steel vent hood above the stove to tie in with the new fridge.  

Next came the fun DIY part of this kitchen project! Instead of replacing the counters and backsplash, I gave them a quick and easy makeover with self-adhesive vinyl and tiles - two simple swaps that made a huge impact. With beautiful mother-of-pearl mosaic tiles and white marbled vinyl covering the ugly countertops and backsplash were vastly improved. 

These are the only tools I needed to complete this project besides a pencil and scissors. This kitchen upgrade is super doable and finished in just one weekend. Covering the countertops took a bit of maneuvering but was definitely doable (with patience). 

I am so happy with how this kitchen feels now! I do have a few more things I would like to accomplish. Removing the upper cabinets around the stove and swapping them with open shelving will open up this space even more. I would also love to upgrade the lower cabinets and drawers but I still have to work up the courage to remove all of their melamine covering. I may just start with new pulls. Also on my list is a new kitchen sink, or at least just a faucet! 

Good luck with your projects and happy spring!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

🫄Resource Round-up: Motherhood Edition 🫄

Image
I recently returned to the office after maternity leave. It was a nourishing time to welcome our sweet babe, Keanu, and I'm feeling energized and excited to be back to work! Partly because I love my job and partly because I made sure to pamper myself throughout my pregnancy and post-partum period. Growing a tiny human is no small feat so I assembled an all-star team of care providers to help me feel my best. This is a list of the incredible people that helped me through this pregnancy journey. I recommend them to any expecting family! Mama Sutra Loving Arts: Sokhna Heathyre Mabin I met Sokhna on my last trip to India and she immediately made me long to have another baby, I can't believe it actually happened! I learned so much about breastfeeding from Sokhna and I was supported by her guidance, yoga practices, herbal teas and soaks throughout my pregnancy and post-partum journey. She is a magical human, doula, lactation consultant and expert in all things motherhood. She is base...
Read more

🍼 Nursery Reveal 🍼

Image
Today, my husband and I celebrate our 13 year wedding anniversary! We actually got married at the courthouse about 6 months prior to our wedding so we always have a little debate on whether this is considered an anniversary. I like to recognize both the wedding and marriage ...so happy anniversary to us!  Do you have funny recurring inside jokes with your fam? Those feel like home.  Speaking of home... onto the reveal! The Nursery - the first room we finished! Inspired by Keanu's name, which means "cool breeze", and his sign, Pisces, The Nursery incorporates art, furniture, and color that evokes nature, specifically the water element.  I truly am enamored with the color we chose, Permafrost. The baby blue hue feels luminescent, a big change from the listless grey walls that stifled the house before we bought it. The tone feels like a cool breeze itself! Here's a  short video I posted to TikTok @allison.of.altamo When I decorated Cristiano's nursery, we went with a...
Read more

🚽 Bathroom Progress Update 🚽

Image
The en-suite bathroom is almost complete! This is a BIG deal because this room was *almost* a deal breaker! I t was giving grimy, dingy and dirty.  Updating the shower was at the top of my list.  I knew it had to be one of our first projects. Removing the shower doors was the first step.  O nly one side of the opaque glass opened at a time so they broke up the bathroom into a cramped, compartmentalized shoebox.  Luckily, it was pretty easy to learn how to get rid of them thanks to YouTube University.  The outdated silver frame was too low. Once we removed that, the bathroom felt much better! A future version of me is going to teach herself to tile, but that wasn't a project I was ready to tackle at eight months pregnant. Tile paint was a more digestible upgrade at the time. We used it in the shower to lighten up the grey-ish walls and floor. I purchased a spray  and a brush-on kit. While the tile spray paint was easier to use, the brush-on provided mor...
Read more